Finally, I pull the strawberries out and grab a knife to remove the stems. The rhythm is soothing, the sweetness calming. Halfway through, I finally feel ready to tell someone about the trip.
Not just anyone—her.
I wipe my hands on a towel and grab my phone, putting the call on speaker phone as soon as it rings.
“Well, well, well,” Sophie answers on the third ring, voice smug and bright. I’m shocked she answered at all, given our opposite shifts. “If it isn’t my favorite vanishing act. Back from the dead?”
“I… What?”
“I called you three times this weekend and you never answered.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
She huffs with humor, like she’s expecting a story. Because she knows me.
“How are you off?” I ask, noticing the time. It must be two in the morning there. I was prepared to leave her a voicemail.
“Hon, I’ve been dying to hear from you. When youdon’t call me backI know something is up. So talk! Where’d you go and what happened?”
I smirk. Everyone should have a friend like Sophie. “I went to California to see a friend.”
“Oh.” She genuinely sounds deflated.
“Not the answer you were hoping for?” I tease.
“Well, no. It’s not very exciting. Here I thought you ghosted me for a hot hippie dude named Kale or something.”
I snort. “Close, but no. Jordan has long hair, but he’s not a hippie.”
Sophie gasps.“Wait. Youdidditch me for a guy? Oh my God, Miles!”
And just like that, I’m laughing again, with my whole body. It spills out of me before I can stop it.
The blankets in the background shift like she’s sitting up. “Tell me everything right now or I will book a flight and hunt you down!”
I sit on the bed and pull the duvet up, settling in to tell my best friend everything. Not in a rush, not like I’m trying to purge it all at once, but like I’m finally ready to say it out loud. I tell her about the Facebook group, and how I’d popped into Jordan’s inbox like a desperate loser, then the easy conversations in the days after. The way he listens. How I knew he needed me before he did. I even tell Sophie about Jordan kissing me in front of everyone when I showed up at the bar.
“There was no hesitation, Soph. He just went for it.”
“Well, of course he did! He couldn’t resist you!” She says it’s like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
My cheeks heat.
“Have you heard of Sunset Cliffs?”
“The National Park? Yeah.”
“He took me there. He introduced me to his friends too. We had a barbecue with them and everything.” I smile again, recalling the way Jordan watched me like I was something worth watching. “His cat even warmed up to me before I left.”
“Wait, Jordan has a cat too? You’re like a match made in heaven.”
Talking about Clematis hurts more than I expect it to. I only held the cat once, yet I miss her like crazy.
Sophie listens and laughs with me, swearing like a sailor a couple of times when her emotions get the best of her. But that’s Sophie for you. She hides nothing.
“Do you hear yourself right now? You sound ridiculously happy. It’s making my teeth ache.”
“I am happy. Or, I was, anyway. I mean, I still am, just… I don’t know. Sad too. It’s weird.”
